


Birds of a Feather Flock Together

by HyperSpikes



Series: 4 times Sonic saved Green Hills (+1 time Green Hills saved Sonic) [4]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Genre: 4 times +1 time, Gen, Heartwarming, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Release, dedicated to my friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:40:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22767154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HyperSpikes/pseuds/HyperSpikes
Summary: A lonely child with a love for the forest finds a friend in Sonic when they both work together to save baby birds from falling out of their nest.
Series: 4 times Sonic saved Green Hills (+1 time Green Hills saved Sonic) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607812
Comments: 20
Kudos: 189





	Birds of a Feather Flock Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shaunatheboss](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Shaunatheboss).



> This story is dedicated to my long-time friend Shaunatheboss on Fanfiction.net! Check out her stories if you have some time! She was actually the one who inspired me to write a story with an emphasis on the environment and protecting nature. Protecting the environment is one of the biggest themes in the Sonic franchise, after all! 
> 
> This is the fourth story in my "4 Times Sonic saved Green Hills + 1 Time Green Hills saved Sonic" series! The next chapter will end this series. Thank you to all who have stuck around this long!

Angel’s lip quivered as he looked down at his hands. Through his tearful and blurred vision, he could see the little frog’s legs twitching as it slowly passed away. The poor thing had been beaten with a stick and left to die in the forested road near the river. Angel had tried to stop Josh from picking on the little animal, but Josh was far bigger and easily knocked him down – and all while laughing.

“Stupid Josh,” Angel whispered to himself as more tears fell from his eyes. The boy idly wondered to himself if the frog would still be dead if he’d had someone with him while walking around in the forest. It seemed that everyone else in his class had someone to call a friend. Granted, there weren’t too many kids at his school, since Green Hills was such a small town. Was there something wrong with him? Was he not likable? It seemed whenever he tried to make a friend, he was turned away. Some of the kids even called him weird because he talked to trees. Even when he found a friend in a small animal, like the dying frog in his hands, it seemed they were taken away from him too, and Angel couldn’t help but feel that the frog’s death was partially his fault.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered to it as it finally succumbed to its wounds and passed away.

After giving it a burial, Angel slowly walked by himself through the forest, dragging his feet on the dirt path. Every now and then, he’d come across a candy wrapper or an empty water bottle, and with a heavy heart, he would pick each one up and stuff them into his backpack. The sun was still high in the sky, but within a few hours, it would make its slow descent behind the grand mountains Green Hills was known for and disappear under the stars. He didn’t want to go home yet, though. He really preferred the outdoors, unlike many of the other kids who stayed cooped inside. His father wouldn’t be home anyway. Not until after nightfall.

As he continued to trudge along, he heard something from high up in one of the trees. He stopped for a moment to process what he was hearing before his eyes widened and he frantically checked the branches. There was no mistaking it: it was the sound of birds in peril. Baby birds, to be exact. Eventually, he found the nest. It was falling apart and was slipping off the edge of the branch. He knew from experience that birds that fell from the nest weren’t likely to survive. In a rush, he threw his backpack down and looked up at the tree. It would be a difficult climb, but he refused to let another animal die on his watch. He was tired of being unable to do anything. Maybe this time… Maybe it would be different.

He slipped and tumbled a few times, but Angel refused to give up. The tree’s rough bark scrapped his palms and elbows and dried tree sap dug into his skin. He was nearly nine feet off the ground when a tiny piece of bark fell from the tree and landed in his eye, causing him to wince and rub at his face instinctually. At the same moment, his shoe lost what little purchase he had on the tree and he suddenly dropped down towards the ground. He felt a strange and foreign tingle zip through the air around him. He braced himself for impact, but instead of landing on the hard forest floor, he found himself lying sloppily in the furred arms of… _something._

“Wh-wh-wh…” Angel trembled as he took in the form of the _thing_ that had caught him. He found its face and the part of him that was expecting to see a large, tooth-filled maw melted away when he saw concerned and friendly eyes and a small button nose. In a split moment, Angel connected the dots and instantly knew who he’d run into. Or, more accurately, _fell onto._

“… You’re the – the blue devil!”

The blue devil bit its lip in laughter and snorted in delight. “Blue devil… People are still calling me that? I mean, _come on,_ I’m not evil!”

Angel scrambled off of Sonic and stared wide-eyed at the creature as he stood up as well. Angel was well-aware of Sonic’s existence but never really thought much of it. To him, the blue devil would forever be someone he’d never meet. It was like knowing that a famous celebrity was out there in the world, but the chances of meeting them were so slim that the idea wasn’t even considered. The creature was by no means a celebrity, but Angel never thought he’d meet the blue devil in the flesh. And yet, there he was, standing right in front of him.

“You caught me,” Angel said, wide-eyed. “That was so cool! How did you do that?”

“I’ve been… uh, kinda watching you?” Sonic said sheepishly. “And when you climbed the tree, I –”

“The birds!” Angel suddenly seemed distraught and he looked back up into the trees. Sonic looked up too and saw the nest. It had only slipped further down the branch and the twigs that held it together were beginning to unravel. Angel turned to Sonic to ask him for help, but before he could blink, Sonic had already scaled the tree and returned to the same spot with the nest in his hands. The birds chirped loudly in fear and Angel felt a lump swell up in his throat. It hurt his heart to know that nature was so cruel to little things. These birds hadn’t done anything wrong, and yet they were in peril.

“Oh, man,” Angel said as he gently took the nest into his own hands. He knew he should leave the birds there for a few hours in case their parents came back, but he was afraid that the birds would die there or get eaten by some other wild animal if he left and came back later. The sun would set in a few hours though, and he was afraid to be alone. With not much else to do, he turned to Sonic and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

“… Thank you for saving me… I want to help these birds. Maybe their parents will come back, but I’m scared to be here by myself…”

Sonic blinked in surprise. No one had ever asked him for help before. It was a strange feeling – to be needed by someone, and not for his power. For the first time, someone was asking for one thing: for him to be there.

“I’ll stay with you,” Sonic said, and before Angel could say anything, he gently grabbed the nest from Angel’s hands and placed it onto the ground before grabbing Angel and zipping to another tree nearby. If they stayed too close to the nest, the birds’ parents might not return.

Angel felt his head spin at Sonic’s incredible speed and he couldn’t help but let out a long gasp when he realized what had happened. A gloved hand was suddenly inches from his face, and he jerked back instinctively.

“I’m Sonic,” Sonic chirped.

Now it was Angel’s turn to blink. He gingerly took Sonic’s hand and shook it. “I’m Angel.”

. . .

“What happens if the birds’ parents don’t come back?”

“I know a lady who takes care of animals. We can bring the birds to her!”

“Okay. I think we should stay for two hours. Maybe the birds’ parents went out to find food.”

“Two hours? That’ll be easy! We can get to know each other, play word games, tell jokes… it’ll be fun! Hey, how long has it been?”

“… A – a minute?”

“Ha! No seriously, how long has it been?”

“… A minute and two seconds…?”

“… Oh.”

. . .

“So what are you supposed to be?”

“I’m a hedgehog.”

“No you’re not. Hedgehogs are small and cute.”

“You don’t think I’m cute?”

“Haha! No, that’s not what I meant!”

. . .

“You lived by yourself for ten years?”

“Yeah. It was… lonely.”

“You didn’t have any friends?”

“Nope.”

“… Me neither.”

. . .

“They think you’re weird?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not weird.”

“Well, I don’t have any friends who think I’m not, so I must be…”

“Well, I’m a talking hedgehog from outer space. I’m as weird as it gets, but you? You’re cool.”

“… I’m cool?”

“Really cool.”

. . .

“Hey Sonic?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for staying with me.”

. . .

When the birds’ mother came back to take them to a new nest, Angel and Sonic parted ways, but not before Angel promised to protect the forest. In many ways, the forest had always been there for him. It never judged him, never hurt him. It always gave him new ways to challenge himself and put himself out there for the sake of other living things. And perhaps, more importantly, it was the place where he met his first real friend. It was his turn to be there for it when so many others were not, and if he made another friend along the way (he would, he knew that for sure), then he would walk these forest paths for as long as he could.


End file.
